Competitive Edge: Clariter’s plastic waste technology

Q: What was the reason for founding your organization – what was the open niche you saw that could be addressed with a new product or service? What was the problem, or gap, or opportunity?

Clariter transforms plastic waste no one wants into high-value, pure industrial products that everybody needs.

Since its formation in 2003, Clariter’s technology has provided a new alternative for plastic recycling.

While the industry is currently turning plastic into new plastic, energy, or fuel, Clariter’s unique process transforms plastic waste into high-value, pure industrial products: oils, waxes, and solvents.

We are active in the innovative chemical recycling space and use our unique technology to chemically transform the majority of plastic waste streams (a far wider variety than in mechanical recycling) into new pure, crude oil-free products. This ends the life of plastic for good.

Clariter’s facilities include a Pilot Plant with Research & Development (R&D) in Gliwice, Poland, and an Industrial-scale Plant in East London, South Africa.

Q: Tell us about your organization. What do you do?

Clariter transforms plastic waste that no one wants into high-value, pure industrial products that everyone needs.

Through our revolutionary process, we make snow-white waxes, odourless and sulphur-free solvents, and white oils.

These ingredients are used in a vast array of consumer and end solutions ranging from cleaning agents, paints, coatings, leather conditioners, floor polishes, candles, shoe cream, and many more.

Our solvents and oils already meet FDA purity standards, and our waxes are on the road to reach the same level. We foresee that our products will be found in various applications, starting with technical, and then going beyond household and cosmetics.

Q: What stage of development are you?

Demonstration stage – proven at small, integrated scale, but not yet commercially available

Q: What do your technologies, products or services do and accomplish – how does it (they) work, who is it (they) aimed for?

Clariter produces high-value, pure industrial waxes, solvents, and oils from plastic waste. These products are industry-grade ingredients used in 1000+ end- and consumer products.

Our solution effectively addresses the very real challenge of post-consumer plastic waste, the dependency on crude oil by providing ingredients to the industry at competitive market prices, and significantly contributes to a cleaner world.

Clariter’s patented process is unique. Unlike mechanical recycling, which does not end the life of plastic, or most chemical recycling routes, which convert plastic to energy, fuel, or newly made plastics, our technology takes plastic waste nobody wants and transforms it into products everybody needs.

Q: Competitively, what gives your technology, product or service set an edge in cost or performance, sustainability, or any other aspect, that makes it stand out from the crowd, In short, what makes it transformative?

According to our competitive analysis, no other company in the world uses a process identical to Clariter’s. None of the technologies known today are developing the same products using the same raw materials, and none are producing ready-made, industrial-grade ingredients.

A major advantage of Clariter’s technology is that we can accept a wider variety of plastic waste streams, even those with the lowest value e.g. limited amounts (up to 5%) of polystyrene.

The true paradigm shift happens when the waste a consumer threw away yesterday becomes the paint that colours their walls, the polish that makes their wooden floors shine, or the candle they light for their romantic dinner party.

Clariter expands the value proposition to Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) companies and industry, from offering recycled packaging to selling end plastic-free products made from (recycled) packaging.

Q: What are the 3 top milestones you have accomplished in the past 3 years?

1. 1. In 2018, Clariter built an Industrial-scale Plant (ISP) in East London, South Africa. It is foremost a demonstration plant for our partners, customers, and suppliers from across the world.
2. 2. The ISP produced the first sample products in July 2019. Since then, the facility has been producing samples for testing and research purposes.
3. 3. Clariter has achieved a net negative carbon footprint according to the results of a new study, meaning it does not add to, but rather depletes carbon from the planet. The results stem from an independent initial Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) carried out by CE Delft, the renowned research and consultancy firm.

Q: What are the 3 top milestones you will accomplish in the next 3 years?

1. 1. Clariter is now scaling up and has a target to build and operate full-scale plants in the near future.
2. 2. Each Clariter Plant will clear the earth of 60 000 tons of plastic waste per year, it will replace the need for more than 50,000 tons of crude-oil per year and will reduce the CO2 emissions in a significant manner.
3. 3. In addition to South Africa, Clariter is currently working on 3 facilities, in the Netherlands, Poland and Israel.

Q. Where can I learn more about Clariter?

Click here to visit Clariter’s website.